Well, if the Raiders weren’t going to do it, another team would. After trading four draft picks for Khalil Mack, the Chicago Bears signed the 2016 Defensive Player of the Year to a six-year $141 million extension, making him the highest-paid defensive player in league history.
The contract averages $23.5 million per season, including $90 million in guaranteed money and $60 million at signing. And here is what the Bears are getting with all of this money:
Mack had been holding out for this extension throughout the whole summer even though the Raiders picked up his fifth-year option, worth $13.85 million. The option gave the team an opportunity to franchise tag the pass-rusher.
The record-breaking contract capped a week of NFL players making mid-tier-NBA-talent money. On Monday, Odell Beckham Jr. broke the record for most guaranteed money given to a wide receiver ($65 million). Aaron Rodgers got the most total guaranteed money from an NFL contract on Wednesday ($103 million), and Aaron Donald held the record for the highest-paid defensive player for all of one day on Friday ($87 million).
Mack has been one of the best defensive talents in the league these last four years, and now he’s getting paid like it.
